The Manhole Project: Letters Down the Drain

I love manhole covers. Not just manhole covers. Drains, pipes, fire hydrants, any kind of utilitarian what not. 99.9% of people don’t even bother to look at these, they are thought to only serve one purpose and are otherwise eye sores. I think they are beautiful. I love the typography on them and how they vary from state to state, country to county.

I have become friends with Bettina Way, a fellow designer from Auckland, New Zealand. We are collaborating on a project we have named The Manhole Project: Letters Down the Drain. We started the project based on a shared interest in documenting the design & typography of manhole covers/drains/etc from our travels…